rainynight65@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
Teenagers today were born in the aftermath of a global financial crisis, are seeing war after war after war, grow up with the knowledge that the world is going to shit and the older generations aren’t willing to do anything about it. They see everyone pull up the ladder behind them, the ‘fuck you I got mine’ mentality is everywhere.
And TikTok is to blame for their mental health?
Specific to subway surfing: I’m 46, and I know this stuff happened when I was a kid. There were no social media back then to show you, but somehow kids still these got stupid ideas. It seems like social media is just the new video games are the new comic books are the new heavy metal is the new whatever scapegoat society wants to use to blame for its own deliberate shortcomings in bringing up the next generation.
The effect (purpose?) of moral panics is to maintain the status quo, scapegoating age old problems as new because there’s a new aspect.
Anyone focusing on social media or phones as the main problem kids and teens are facing today is part of the problem, whether or not it’s intentional.
True, but social media amplifies the dumb shit and creates new incentives and pressures to join the idiot herd. And while TikTok is definitely not the only problem, it is a problem.
We’re not talking about social media. We’re talking about TikTok. Huge difference. People don’t complain about IG because it’s heavily censored by zios/imperialists.
dsilverz@thelemmy.club 5 weeks ago
Not just teenagers (Alpha generation), but also GenZ and part of Millennials. I’m personally a Zennial (microgeneration between both GenZ and Millennials) and I feel the same as described in your comment: things are going worse everyday, most of the older generations (Gen X and Boomers) seems deadpanned about climate change, wars, economic crisis, and I’d also add broken dreams (lots of plans were destroyed because of things such as COVID pandemics, for example). It’s depressing to know that living will be worse and worse as the time passes.
rainynight65@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
Thing is, I am actually Gen X. Early even. And I look at the Boomers and see the generation who kept pulling up the ladder. They got free education and privatised it to make it expensive for us. They got free healthcare and privatised it to make it expensive. They got into the housing market for cheap and started using it as an investment and speculation vehicle, making it harder for each subsequent generation to get into it. They were pretty much the last generation in which it was possible to raise a family on a single income. Climate change is front and center of mind in my generation, we’ve known for over 30 years what’s coming. When you look at those who most fervently oppose climate change action - all old fogeys, and I say that being very conscious of the fact that I am approaching ‘old fogey’ status from the perspective of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
I can only imagine how todays teenagers and young adults feel…